Tesla’s Austin Robotaxis Experience 14 Crashes in Initial Eight Months

Tesla Inc.’s robotaxis have been involved in over a dozen crashes in Austin since the service began, according to reports the carmaker has made to regulators.

The electric vehicle maker has reported that its emerging robotaxi business has encountered 14 crash incidents over approximately eight months, as detailed in data submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A federal order mandates that car manufacturers report incidents involving automated driving systems in specific crash scenarios.

Tesla launched its limited robotaxi service in Austin in June, initially deploying about a dozen cars with human safety monitors. The fleet has gradually expanded since then. The first reported crash occurred in July, with the company indicating that the incident only resulted in property damage, as per the standing order.

However, in December, Tesla submitted an updated report for that crash, revealing that it had led to minor injuries and hospitalization. Another incident from the same month also resulted in minor injuries.

In January, Tesla’s latest report indicated five new incidents that occurred in December and January. Notably, one of these incidents involved a collision between a stationary robotaxi and an Austin city bus. Additionally, two incidents involved a robotaxi backing into objects in parking lots.

Following tests in December, Tesla began offering driverless rides without any safety monitor in “a few” vehicles in its Austin fleet starting in January. It remains unclear whether any of the reported incidents involved vehicles operating without safety monitors.

Information regarding Tesla’s incidents is limited, and unlike its competitors, Tesla redacts narrative descriptions. The majority of its incident reports primarily cite property damage.

Austin is currently the only city where Tesla is providing robotaxi rides. The company had previously launched a similar service in the San Francisco Bay Area, but those rides utilize human drivers and resemble traditional ridesharing services like Uber.

Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has increasingly staked the company’s future on advancements in autonomy and robotics, particularly as the core EV business has struggled.

While Tesla has not disclosed the current size of its Austin robotaxi fleet, Musk mentioned in January that there were approximately 500 rideshare vehicles operating between Austin and the Bay Area.

In contrast, competitor Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo operates around 2,500 vehicles across multiple cities, including Phoenix, San Francisco, Austin, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Miami. Waymo has reported hundreds of incidents since June, including about 50 incidents in Austin, where it operates approximately 200 vehicles on the Uber app.

Tesla aims to expand its robotaxi service to about seven additional cities by mid-year, although it did not meet similar expansion goals set for the end of the previous year. Its operations currently lag behind Waymo, which began offering driverless rides to the public in the Phoenix area back in 2020.

Copyright 2026 Bloomberg.

Topics
Tesla

Tesla Inc.’s robotaxis have been involved in over a dozen crashes in Austin since the service began, according to reports the carmaker has made to regulators.

The electric vehicle maker has reported that its emerging robotaxi business has encountered 14 crash incidents over approximately eight months, as detailed in data submitted to the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. A federal order mandates that car manufacturers report incidents involving automated driving systems in specific crash scenarios.

Tesla launched its limited robotaxi service in Austin in June, initially deploying about a dozen cars with human safety monitors. The fleet has gradually expanded since then. The first reported crash occurred in July, with the company indicating that the incident only resulted in property damage, as per the standing order.

However, in December, Tesla submitted an updated report for that crash, revealing that it had led to minor injuries and hospitalization. Another incident from the same month also resulted in minor injuries.

In January, Tesla’s latest report indicated five new incidents that occurred in December and January. Notably, one of these incidents involved a collision between a stationary robotaxi and an Austin city bus. Additionally, two incidents involved a robotaxi backing into objects in parking lots.

Following tests in December, Tesla began offering driverless rides without any safety monitor in “a few” vehicles in its Austin fleet starting in January. It remains unclear whether any of the reported incidents involved vehicles operating without safety monitors.

Information regarding Tesla’s incidents is limited, and unlike its competitors, Tesla redacts narrative descriptions. The majority of its incident reports primarily cite property damage.

Austin is currently the only city where Tesla is providing robotaxi rides. The company had previously launched a similar service in the San Francisco Bay Area, but those rides utilize human drivers and resemble traditional ridesharing services like Uber.

Tesla Chief Executive Officer Elon Musk has increasingly staked the company’s future on advancements in autonomy and robotics, particularly as the core EV business has struggled.

While Tesla has not disclosed the current size of its Austin robotaxi fleet, Musk mentioned in January that there were approximately 500 rideshare vehicles operating between Austin and the Bay Area.

In contrast, competitor Alphabet Inc.’s Waymo operates around 2,500 vehicles across multiple cities, including Phoenix, San Francisco, Austin, Los Angeles, Atlanta, and Miami. Waymo has reported hundreds of incidents since June, including about 50 incidents in Austin, where it operates approximately 200 vehicles on the Uber app.

Tesla aims to expand its robotaxi service to about seven additional cities by mid-year, although it did not meet similar expansion goals set for the end of the previous year. Its operations currently lag behind Waymo, which began offering driverless rides to the public in the Phoenix area back in 2020.

Copyright 2026 Bloomberg.

Topics
Tesla